Meat curing composition and method for curing meat therewith



United States Patent 3,255,023 MEAT CURING COMPOSITION AND METHOD FORCURING MEAT THEREWITH Thomas William Humphreys, North Plainfield, andDavid F. Hinkley, Plainfield, N.J., assignors to Merck & Co., Inc.,Rahway, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey No Drawing. Filed Aug. 7,1963, Ser. No. 300,700 9 Claims. (Cl. 99-222) This invention relates toan improved method of curing meats and, more particularly, to aneconomical mehod for accelerating the curing of meat and to compositionsuseful in meat curing.

Originally, one of the main purposes of curing meat was to preserve themeat without refrigeration. The so-called curing process consistedessentially of the addition of salt. Later it was found that by theaddition of various agents the flavor and color of the meat could besubstantially enhanced. It was also found that the use of other agents,notably ascorbic acid, its isomers and salts, accelerated and stabilizedthe curing of meat so that the time involved in the curing process couldbe substantially reduced, resulting in faster and more carefullycontrolled curing cycles.

In the processing of meat today it is now a common practice to employcuring salt compositions which include sodium chloride, an alkali metalnitrite and/or nitrate along with ascorbic or isoascorbic acid. Ifdesired, sugar in the form of cane, beet, or corn sugar may also beadded to the medium, which in addition to enhancing the flavor is alsoof importance in producing a desirable curing medium. Phosphate in theform of sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium metaphosphate andtrisodiumphosphate may also be added to the curing medium in varyingamounts in accordance with methods previously described in the priorart. Other agents such as spices and various seasonings are alsocommonly employed in the 'curing process. In general, therefore, itmight be said that ordinarily the main ingredients employed in thecuring of meat are sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, sugar and ascorbicacid oran isomer, salt or ester thereof.

It will be observed from the foregoing that, of the principal additivesemployed in the curing of meat, ascorbic acid or one of its isomers isthe most expensive of the ingredients utilized.

It is an object of this invention to provide a mehod for the curing ofmeat which is substantially reduced in cost when compared with thepresently-employed salt ascorbate mediums.

It is a further object to provide such a low-cost medium which, however,will function in such a way that a rapid, carefully-controlled curingreaction will be effected.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide curingmediums and a method of curing meat which will result in the developmentof a desirable cure color in the meat which is stable under exposure tofluorescent light for long periods of time.

In accordance with one embodiment of our invention, it has been foundthat it is possible to efifect a rapid and carefully-controlled cure ofmeat by employing a curing medium which, in addition to a source ofnitric oxide, includesa small amount of alloxan (mesoxalylurea). One ofthe desirable features of this particular compound used as a curingagent is that a rapid cure of the meat may be obtained by usingunusually small amounts of the compound in the curing medium. Also,since it is chemically compatible with ascorbate salts, it may desirably'be included as an additional ingredient in a conventional ascorbatecuring medium.

In accordance with a further embodiment of our invention, it has beenfound that when amounts of at least 0.00055 of alloxan, based on theweight of the meat, are

incorporated into the curing medium, the characteristic pink-red colorof the cured meat is stabilized against fading to a brown color when themeat is exposed to fluorescent light for a relatively long period oftime.

In accordance with a further embodiment of our invention, it has beenfound that the alloxan can be employed with particular advantage as acomponent of a so-called pickling solution, i.e., a water solution ofsalt, sodium nitrite and other curing agents. In such a method it isdesirable to maintain the pH of the pickling medium at between about 5and about 8.5 in order that the curing reaction will take placeefficiently. Although the pickling solution may be merely a solution ofthe desired ingredients in which the meat may be soaked, a moredesirable practice in the rapid curing of meat is to employ a socalledpumping pickle or injection pickle, thus shortening the time necessaryto effect complete curing of the piece of meat to be. cured.

This medium is particularly desirable for the curing of primal cuts ofmeat such as hams, loins and the like. The meat to be curedmay beallowed to soak in the pickle solution or, if a more rapid cure isdesired, the pickling solution may be injected into the meat to permit amore rapid diffusion of the curing agent throughout the tissue.

Pursuant to a still further method of carrying out the process of ourinvention, comminuted meat of the type used in preparing commercialsausages, such as frankfurters, is mixed with a curing salt mixturecontaining sodium chloride, sodium nitrate and a small amount ofalloxan. The amounts of salts and additives which are included in thedry salt curing mixture should be so adjusted that an aqueous solutionof the curing mixture has apH of from about 5 to about 8.5.

According to one further embodiment of our invention, there are provideddry homogenous compositions including a small amount of alloxan and adiluting edible carrier composition which contains no nitrate curingsalt. These compositions may be used in fresh meat processing as well asin cured meat processing. It is desirable to have such compositionsavailable for the nitrite curing of meat in view of the fact thatcompositions containing both nitrite salts and alloxan are subject todeterioration when stored for long periods under variable conditions oftemperature.

Such compositions include sodium chloride which may take the place of,or supplement, the sodium chloride contained in a nitric-oxide producingcuring composition. In such curing compositions containing sodiumchloride and a small amount, e.g., at least about .0055 of alloxan thereare also included a variety of binders, fillers, seasoning and flavoringagents such as sugars, spices in the form of oils or oleoresins or asground spice. These dry curing compositions may also contain otheredible ingredients such as flours, starches, corn sugar, cane sugar,casein, dry powdered milk and gelatin. Compositions of this type may beprepared for distribution and use in the curing of meat, along withadded alkali metal nitrates and/or nitrites and additional sodiumchloride, if desired. The amount of the composition which is added alongwith the nitrite salt mixture is adjusted so that there is provided from.000055% to about .0055% of alloxan, based on the weight of the meat.

The curing mixtures utilized in the process of our invention may-beemployed conveniently in the preparation of other types of special meatproducts. For example, pork bellies may be cured for bacon by the use ofa dry salt mixture containing at least .000055% of alloxan. In addition,various cured meat products which may be produced in accordance with thepresent invention are frankfurters, Vienna sausage, bologna, cured meatloaves, salami, chopped ham, and the like.

In accordance with our invention, we have found that alloxan can beadded to other curing agents in an amount which is dependent on themethod of cure used, the material which is being cured, the accelerationof cure desired, or the need to maintain the cure color for prolongedperiods of time on exposure of the cured meat to fluorescent light. Theamount of alloxan which is added to the curing mixture varies with thecuring reaction and is partly dependent on the amount of cureacceleration required and on the desirability for having unusual colorstability conferred on the cured meat. The exact amount must bedetermined, in most cases, experimentally, and is dependent upon thespecific curing medium selected. In most cases it has been found thatadding alloxan in an amount of at least .000055%, based on the weight ofthe meat, results in a rapid, accelerated cured. Amounts used in excessof about .00ll% alloxan, based on the weight of the meat, when employedas a curing agent in combination with a nitric oxide producing medium,result in the production of a cured meat product having a desirablepink-red cure color which is stable and does not fade for long periodsof time on exposure to fluorescent light.

I It has been found generally satisfactory when a stabilized cure coloris desired to employ amounts of alloxan ranging from about .00ll% toabout .0028%, based on the weight of the meat. Amounts in excess of.0028% up to about .0ll% can be used, if desired, but it is believedthat amounts in excess of about .0028% are unnecessary and, thus,uneconomical in the meat curing process. If color stability underexposure to fluorescent light in the cured meat is not a necessaryfeature of the desired product, smaller amounts of the curing agent than.00ll% may be employed in the curing reaction. However, at least anamount of about .000055%, based on the weight of the meat, should beemployed in order to provide a curing medium which will effect anaccelerated and rapid cure when employing a nitric oxide curing medium.

In the examples which follow, the cure color of the meat was visuallyinspected and given a relative intensity of cure color rating based oncomparison with a standard sample of cured meat, ranging from (whichrepresents complete loss of red cure color) to a value of 6 (a pinky-redfull cure color). The examples which follow are intended to be merelyillustrative of some of the specific embodiments of our invention, thelimits of which are defined in the appended claims.

Example 1 .-T he curing of chopped meat with alloxan Experimentalsausage is prepared from fresh ground meat comprising 60% bull meatchucks and pork shoulder in admixture with curing agents according tothe following formula:

Meat, gm 100 Sodium nitrite, ml. of 1% stock solution 1.0 Sodiumchloride, gm. 3.0 Crushed ice, gm. 30

' The meat, ice, salt and sodium nitrite are. first chopped in astainless steel Waring Blendor until the temperature of the mixturereaches 10 C. The appropriate amount of alloxan is then added andchopping continued until the temperature reaches 13 C. The resultantemulsion is then stuffed into a 150 ml. beaker, covered with aluminumfoil, stored under refrigeration until all samples are prepared, andsubsequently cooked out at 73 C. for minutes. During cooking, the rateof cure color development is observed visually at three minuteintervals. Full cure color is arbitrarily assigned a value of 6;complete lack of cure color development is recorded as 0. Intermediatevalues are assigned depending upon the visuallyestimated degree of colordevelopment. The rapidity of development of cure color on the additionof small amounts. of alloxan compared with the control 4 samplecontaining no alloxan is evident from the data in the following tables.

TABLE A.CURE COLOR DEVELOPMENTRELATIVE INTENSITY Minutes Control- NoTest Agent Added .001% Alloxan Added (by Weight of Meat) .0001% AlloxanAdded (by Weight of Meat) TABLE C.CURE COLOR DEVELOPMENT-RELATIVEINTENSITY Control-No Test Agent Added .00055% A110 xan Added (by Weightof Meat) Minutes Example 2.Use of alloxan in the pickling curing of porkFresh pork hams are injected with a pumping pickle and immersed inanother covering pickle, and stored at refrigerator temperatures. Thehams treated in this manner develop a desirable red color within a shortperiod after treatment. Cutting of the meat shows that the red color isfairly well developed through most of the interior. When amounts ofalloxan in excess of about .00ll% based on the weight of the meat areemployed, slices of the meat, when exposed to fluorescent light for longperiods of time, maintain their full red cure color.

' The injection pickle used has the following composition:

Salt, percent -Q 14.5 Cane sugar, percent 3.0 Sodium hexameta phosphate,percent 3.0

Sodium nitrite (2 pounds per gallons*), percent 0.21

Water, percent 79.3 pH 6.8 Alloxan, percent (DOGS-.028)

*Density of pickle solution-is about 9.5 pounds/gallon.

The covering pickle used has the following approximate composition:

Percent Sodium nitrite 0.05 Sodium nitrate 0.08 Sucrose 1.5 Sodiumchloride 15.0 Alloxan .0011

The above examples are presented to illustrate the methods of carryingout the present invention.

Various changes and modifications of the invention can be made, and tothe extent that such variations incorporate .the spirit of thisinvention, they are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A meat curing preparation including sodium chloride, nitricoxide-producing medium, and a sufiicient amount of alloxan to acceleratethe meat cure and stabilize the cure color, said meat curing preparationhaving a pH range of about 5.0 to about 8.5.

2. A solid salt composition for the curing of meat containing sodiumchloride, at least one member selected from the group consisting ofalkali metal nitrate and an alkali metal nitrite and a sufficient amountof alloxan to accelerate the meat cure and stabilize the cure color,said solid curing salt composition having a pH range from about 5.0 toabout 8.5.

3. A meat pickling solution comprising an aqueous solution of sodiumnitrite, sodium chloride, sucrose and a sufiicient amount of alloxan toaccelerate the meat cure and stabilize the cure color, said meatpickling solution having a pH range of about 5.0 to about 8.5.

4. A method for curing meat to accelerate the rate of curing and tostabilize the color of the cured meat which comprises contacting themeat with at least 0.000055% by weight of the meat of alloxan and anitric oxide-producing curing medium in a pH range of about 5.0 to about8.5.

5. The method according to claim 4 wherein the 6 amount of alloxan isfrom about 0.0011% to about 0.0028% based upon the weight of the meat.

6. A method of curing meat, the improvement of which comprises carryingout the curing reaction with a nitric acid-producing curing medium in apH range of about 5 .0 to about 8.5 containing at least 0.000055% ofalloxan based upon the weight of the meat.

7. The improved method of accelerating the rate of cure and ofstabilizing the cure color of meat which is being cured by the action ofa curing composition containing alkali nitrite, said method consistingof adding to said curing composition before use alloxan 'in an amount ofat least 0.000055% based upon the weight of the meat, said curingcomposition having a pH range of about 5.0 to about 8.5.

8. A method in the preparation of a cured sausage product to acceleratethe rate of cure and stabilize the cure color of the sausage productwhich comprises incorporating into a sausage emulsion containing anitric oxide-producing curing medium at least 0.000055% by weight of thesausage meat of alloxan, said emulsion having a pH range of about 5.0 toabout 8.5.

9. The preparation of a cured sausage product according to claim 8wherein the amount of alloxan is from about 0.0011% to about 0.0028%based upon the weight of the sausage meat.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,828,212 3/1958Sair 99159 X 2,693,374 12/1960 Sanders 99222 X 3,033,687 5/1962 Harperet a1. 99--l59 X 3,051,579 8/ 1962 Hammes 99-222 X OTHER REFERENCES Hillet al.: Organic Chemistry, 1943, pub. by The Bl-akiston Company,Philadelphia, Pa., p. 800.

A. LOUIS MONACELL, Primary Examiner.

HYMAN LORD, Examiner.

1. A MEAT CURING PREPARATION INCLUDING SODIUM CHLORIDE, NITRICOXIDE-PRODUCING MEDIUM, AND A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF ALLOXAN TO ACCELERATETHE MEAT CURE AND STABILIZE THE CURE COLOR, SAID MEAT CURING PREPARATIONHAVING A PH RANGE OF ABOUT 5.0 TO ABOUT 8.5.